By MARK CASHMAN

Forshaw Rugby Park used to be an uncomfortable place to play rugby on winter’s Saturday afternoon.

The dressing room facilities were barely functional and the hot water generally ran out by the time the Colin Caird Shield game ran on, but you always knew you’d been in a contest by day’s end.

The crowd even played a role in the way the games was reffed and played out.

Souths (and before that Port Hacking) were gritty and connected and made up for skill deficiencies by just getting in the way and staying in the contest – bodies, elbows and boots on the line you could say.

That hasn’t been the case in recent seasons as the search goes on for their first Shute Shield title.

There have been some handy sides back in the day, one that went within a few minutes of breaking that drought back in 2012, one point losers to Sydney Uni.

Unfortunately quick fixes have been part of the recipe for success with guns for hire coming in, making a difference and then moving on to the next.

That’s something that head coach Scott Fava is determined to change – sustainable success over a long period of time with the emphasis on bringing some local heroes on to the stage.

“My son’s in the junior system and it’s been fragmented and a lot of the kids don’t know that there is a pathway to play Shute Shield right here,” Fava told Rugby News.

“Some of them didn’t even know that Forshaw was Souths home ground and where it was while many of the better ones often headed off to play at clubs like Randwick and Sydney Uni.

“I’ve always been in and around the area even when I was playing at Eastwood and when the opportunity came up to coach here I felt I needed to step in.

“Step in and create a pathway for the talent that is in the area and wanting to take their footy to a new level.”

That was 12 months ago and while it’s been hard work there are signs that things are turning around, albeit slowly.

The first steps were a Junior Participation Academy that attracted close to 50 kids on a Tuesday night with some of the more talented ones being invited to a skills based session on a Thursday night.

That was all aimed at getting some cohesion around the teams that entered the State Championships and it got them on the ground at Forshaw.

Fava also kick started a professional development group aimed at helping players in the 18-22 years age bracket get ready for the rigours of senior footy.

That was an eight-week program that came together four times a week and has helped many of the next wave understand where they need to be to be rugby ready.

“And to be honest that part of the program has got some great results,” Fava added.

“You can’t just turn up for trials and expect to get the right results, rugby’s got to be 12 months of the year.

“Players have put on some good weight so they will now head into the wider senior group to make sure that their conditioning is where it needs to be.”

The standouts of this program have been Jonty Ravenhill, Mason Duke, Oscar Frean and Landen Walker.

Fava has also attracted a core of Canadian internationals who will come on line soon.

These include Conor Young, Sam Miller, Mark Balaski and Jeff Young.

There also high hopes for centre Cameron McKenzie, a 19-year-old Burraneer local junior who had been in the Roosters NRL system and scrum half John Poland from Munster.

Off field there has been movement as well with Hamish Mitchell who was with Taranaki in New Zealand taking charge of the forwards.

And with the increasing importance of culture and being the best Rebel that you can be at the club, David King is Mental Skills Coach.

The foundations of sustained performance are in place.

“But we just don’t want this to be there while I’m here,” Fava observed.

“It has to be ongoing, good things are happening.”

Those uncomfortable winter afternoons might well be on the agenda sooner rather than later.